stoutfellow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stoutfellow) wrote2014-04-27 07:02 pm
stoutfellow) wrote2014-04-27 07:02 pm
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EGS: Nanase
Nanase Kitsune was the sixth of the main eight to put in an appearance: her turn.
First point: Nanase is Tedd's cousin. Her mother (first name unrevealed; on the EGS forum, she's called "Mamase") is the sister of Noriko Verres - the "legendary monster-hunter". It has never been made clear how much Mamase knows, or how much - if any - magic she has. She has been seen colluding with FBI wizards to conceal the extent of her knowledge from Nanase. The Kitsune and Verres families have been a bit distant in the past, but the chaos of the last couple of years has forced them back into regular contact.
In some ways, Nanase is a paragon. She plays the dutiful Japanese daughter - studying hard, working hard, limiting her leisure activities; she is fluent in three languages (English, Japanese, French), holds a black belt in the peculiar martial art that was taught at Sensei Greg's dojo, and possesses a wide range of spells. (Most of them have to do with stealth and misdirection, but her Guardian Form spell puts her, temporarily, on a par with Cheerleadra in physical combat.) There has been strain between her and Mamase of late - over her magic (which she thinks her mother knows nothing about), over her relationship with Ellen, over general teenage-girl issues. Still, she obeys her mother's dicta, refraining from drinking (though she is of age) at a New Year's party, keeping an eye out for Tedd's emotional well-being (which is well taken care of by Grace, thankyouverymuch), and generally being a Good Daughter.
When the strip began, she was dating Elliot; their sparring matches at the dojo had, um, more than a little edge to them. She had begun dating him - the latest and longest in a series of brief flings with boys - because he seemed to be the kind of boy she ought to like. Nonetheless, she felt no spark, and when Sarah's feelings for him were revealed, she lost no time in breaking up with him.
Then Ellen appeared, and Nanase was quickly smitten. It took a while for her to realize that this was not a side-effect of the transformations that created Ellen - that she herself was a lesbian - and the dance of who-knows-what, who-will-admit-what, what-are-we-going-to-do took some time to resolve. Ultimately, she came out, to her mother (who sniffs that it's merely a phase) and to her classmates (who know better than to make anything of it). Her rather stiff moral sense plays well against Ellen's hijinks, and the two of them have gained a bit of a reputation as amateur sleuths. (The Case of the Mall Goblin and The Case of the Fugitive Gorilla are well-known; their defeat of the sorcerous cult leader known as Not-Tengu remains a secret, except to the FBI agents who took him into custody afterward.)
I would be remiss not to describe some of Nanase's spells. One of her favorites is the Fairy Doll spell: she is able to create foot-tall winged copies of herself, and plant her consciousness in them. She may create a fairy doll anywhere that she's sufficiently familiar with, or inhabit one that's already in existence. (Ellen keeps one in her bedroom.) Damage to one of the fairy dolls is painful to Nanase, but not harmful, though the effects can accumulate if she overdoes it. Her epic delaying action against the sorcerer Abraham to save Ellen's life is a notable example - and it was that battle that granted her the Guardian Form spell. That spell gives her formidable fighting abilities, including - as it were - an onboard tactical computer. (She was no match for Not-Tengu physically, but the Guardian Form can certainly stand up to most enemies.) In addition, she can: create multicolored illusory decoy images of herself; determine precisely how many people are looking at her at any given moment; change her hair length, style, and color with a moment's thought; create a semi-autonomous "clone" of herself, which in turn has a limited capacity to cast spells of its own; and do assorted other things to hide, misdirect, or simply sneak around.
Nanase has some of the White Knight characteristics of Elliot, but in her it's more proactive - she seeks out problems to solve, where he just leaps in when he sees something Wrong. The two of them - plus Grace - are the real powerhouses of the team, and there are hints that all three will be needed in the times to come. I look forward to it.
First point: Nanase is Tedd's cousin. Her mother (first name unrevealed; on the EGS forum, she's called "Mamase") is the sister of Noriko Verres - the "legendary monster-hunter". It has never been made clear how much Mamase knows, or how much - if any - magic she has. She has been seen colluding with FBI wizards to conceal the extent of her knowledge from Nanase. The Kitsune and Verres families have been a bit distant in the past, but the chaos of the last couple of years has forced them back into regular contact.
In some ways, Nanase is a paragon. She plays the dutiful Japanese daughter - studying hard, working hard, limiting her leisure activities; she is fluent in three languages (English, Japanese, French), holds a black belt in the peculiar martial art that was taught at Sensei Greg's dojo, and possesses a wide range of spells. (Most of them have to do with stealth and misdirection, but her Guardian Form spell puts her, temporarily, on a par with Cheerleadra in physical combat.) There has been strain between her and Mamase of late - over her magic (which she thinks her mother knows nothing about), over her relationship with Ellen, over general teenage-girl issues. Still, she obeys her mother's dicta, refraining from drinking (though she is of age) at a New Year's party, keeping an eye out for Tedd's emotional well-being (which is well taken care of by Grace, thankyouverymuch), and generally being a Good Daughter.
When the strip began, she was dating Elliot; their sparring matches at the dojo had, um, more than a little edge to them. She had begun dating him - the latest and longest in a series of brief flings with boys - because he seemed to be the kind of boy she ought to like. Nonetheless, she felt no spark, and when Sarah's feelings for him were revealed, she lost no time in breaking up with him.
Then Ellen appeared, and Nanase was quickly smitten. It took a while for her to realize that this was not a side-effect of the transformations that created Ellen - that she herself was a lesbian - and the dance of who-knows-what, who-will-admit-what, what-are-we-going-to-do took some time to resolve. Ultimately, she came out, to her mother (who sniffs that it's merely a phase) and to her classmates (who know better than to make anything of it). Her rather stiff moral sense plays well against Ellen's hijinks, and the two of them have gained a bit of a reputation as amateur sleuths. (The Case of the Mall Goblin and The Case of the Fugitive Gorilla are well-known; their defeat of the sorcerous cult leader known as Not-Tengu remains a secret, except to the FBI agents who took him into custody afterward.)
I would be remiss not to describe some of Nanase's spells. One of her favorites is the Fairy Doll spell: she is able to create foot-tall winged copies of herself, and plant her consciousness in them. She may create a fairy doll anywhere that she's sufficiently familiar with, or inhabit one that's already in existence. (Ellen keeps one in her bedroom.) Damage to one of the fairy dolls is painful to Nanase, but not harmful, though the effects can accumulate if she overdoes it. Her epic delaying action against the sorcerer Abraham to save Ellen's life is a notable example - and it was that battle that granted her the Guardian Form spell. That spell gives her formidable fighting abilities, including - as it were - an onboard tactical computer. (She was no match for Not-Tengu physically, but the Guardian Form can certainly stand up to most enemies.) In addition, she can: create multicolored illusory decoy images of herself; determine precisely how many people are looking at her at any given moment; change her hair length, style, and color with a moment's thought; create a semi-autonomous "clone" of herself, which in turn has a limited capacity to cast spells of its own; and do assorted other things to hide, misdirect, or simply sneak around.
Nanase has some of the White Knight characteristics of Elliot, but in her it's more proactive - she seeks out problems to solve, where he just leaps in when he sees something Wrong. The two of them - plus Grace - are the real powerhouses of the team, and there are hints that all three will be needed in the times to come. I look forward to it.